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Why this action matters
Backed by researchThis action addresses the significant environmental impact of food systems, particularly the high greenhouse gas emissions and land use associated with animal-based diets. By promoting dietary shifts toward plant-based proteins and reducing consumption of high-impact animal products, it can reduce annual GHG emissions by up to 10.4 billion metric tons of CO2 eq and free up land equivalent to ~8.1 billion metric tons of CO2 eq over 100 years through vegetation regrowth and soil carbon sequestration.
Concept connections
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What this action would change
Backed by researchThe action itself
All overseas procurement contracts and multilateral development bank funding submissions must include alignment with the Plant-Based Treaty and ensure Free, Prior and Informed Consent protections for affected communities.
What it would change in the UK
This action would align UK overseas procurement with international environmental and human rights standards, reducing the risk of reputational and legal harm from deforestation-linked supply chains, and promoting more sustainable food systems that lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health.
What it would change worldwide
By embedding food-system transition into development finance, the UK's action would create a precedent for other donors, encouraging a shift toward plant-based diets that could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 7% and significantly lower land use and biodiversity impacts, as demonstrated by studies on dietary changes and land use reduction.
Where national politics stands
Nothing recorded yetThe research behind it
Published research about food and farming as a whole, not this action in particular
We are holding this summary back until we have checked it
This summary was written before we started checking summaries against the papers they cite, so it has not been checked.
Research and reports on this action
Food Supply
UK Health Security Agency - HECC · 2023
Open the full report to read the findings ↗
“There is a strong relationship between the amount of animal-based foods in a diet and its environmental impact, including GHG emissions, land use, water use, eutrophication and biodiversity. Dietary shifts away from animal-based foods can make a substantial contribution to reduction of the UK environmental footprint. Uncertainty due to region of origin and methods of food production do not obscure these differences between diet groups and should not be a barrier to policy action aimed at reducing animal-based food consumption.”
Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts
Nature Food · 2023
Research that argues the other way
We are holding this summary back until we have checked it
This summary was written before we started checking summaries against the papers they cite, so it has not been checked.